Kuala lumpur: The Melaka government has launched the 'E-mel Rakyat' (People's Email) Initiative, which provides free email addresses using the official @melaka.my domain to create a digital communication channel between the people and the state government. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusof said that, so far, 203,000 E-mel Rakyat accounts have been registered, with more than 193,000 of them involving students and teachers across the state.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, this initiative will serve as a more structured and secure official communication medium, enabling the public to receive government information, while also allowing them to submit views, comments, and suggestions that can be considered in the formulation of state policies. From now on, all schools will be pioneers in using the @melaka.my domain so that teachers, students, and parents can communicate directly through the digital system, thus facilitating matters related to education and monitoring student performance.
Earlier, Chief Minister Ab Rauf officiated the launch of the E-mel Rakyat Initiative, which was also attended by state Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Communication Committee chairman Datuk Fairul Nizam Roslan and state Education, Higher Education and Religious Affairs Committee deputy chairman Datuk Rosli Abdullah. The implementation of the initiative also complements the development of the Kampung Digital (Digital Village) programme, under which addresses in traditional villages are being digitised through a new numbering system and lane naming scheme to facilitate the delivery of government services.
The Chief Minister added that 618 traditional villages in Melaka are targeted to be digitised by the end of this year, before the use of Digital Village addresses becomes mandatory for dealings with the state government from next year. When everything has been digitised, dealings with the government, including the e-Tanah system and local authorities, will be more efficient through the use of standardised and accurate addresses.
Ab Rauf noted that the use of Digital Village addresses would also help overcome the frequent problem of official correspondence failing to reach recipients due to incomplete village addresses or addresses shared by multiple residents, thus improving the efficiency of official matters involving land tax, local authorities, and financial institutions. He mentioned that every household in Melaka is only eligible to register one Email Rakyat account using the @melaka.my domain, which can be used for official government matters as well as personal email.
Meanwhile, Fairul Nizam stated that the state government aims to register 250,000 E-mel Rakyat accounts by the end of the year, and the initiative will be expanded in stages to include more groups, such as government agencies, Digital Village communities, and business licence holders in the state. The state government is also striving to improve the E-mel Rakyat functions to be more user-friendly and enable integration with more digital applications in the future.
He explained that this initiative is part of the state's digitalisation ecosystem that also encompasses the Digital Village and Digital Farm (Kebun Digital) programmes to realise the Smart Melaka aspirations under the Melaka Maju Jaya 2035 Strategic Plan. Registration eligibility priority will be given to Melaka residents whose identity card numbers carry the '04' state code. However, residents living in Melaka may also apply, subject to a screening process by the Information Technology Division.